


First day of school

by FlatJeremy2



Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Canon Gay Relationship, Coal Hill, First Day of School, M/M, POV, back story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 14:59:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8671885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlatJeremy2/pseuds/FlatJeremy2
Summary: This is the story of Matteusz and Charlie's first day of school. Each chapter shows the day from their perspective. Some back story is provided for Matteusz.





	1. Matteusz POV

Matteusz left his flat and made the long walk to school. He didn’t mind he was actually excited. He had done this walk everyday for the last week. Coal Hill was a fresh start for him, one he longed for very much.

His uncle had tried to convince his father to make the move to London last winter. He had said he would be able to secure him a decent job there. When Matteusz first heard of the offer, he had never wished for something so hard. Being gay and living in a small farm community in Poland, he hated his life. More so after he had made the mistake of kissing his best friend, thinking he felt the same way.

He stopped being his parent’s pride. They never hit him, but dragged him to church everyday praying for change. He couldn’t reconcile all his happy memories of his family with those last couple months. In the end it was his parents shame that pushed the move.

For months he studied English in his room. Had countless conversations with himself; preparing for his new home. He was sure he had made good progress.

They moved at the start of summer, and after but a week Matteusz felt himself emboldened. He went to the local library and during a quiet time used the computer to learn about gay hangouts in London. In the end he set his sights on Soho, memorizing the main streets north of Leicester Square.

When the Friday had come he dressed himself in his nicest clothes and mentally prepared to meet others like him. He walked down Wardour street and he saw a couple guys watching him. One had even smiled and come up to him. His heart had raced. In the end it was a disaster. He could only follow so much of what was said. Practicing a conversation in his head had been a stupid idea. Doing this he had known where the conversation would go. Talking with this guy, he had felt directionless, awkward. He wasn’t ready.

His first venture had failed but he wasn’t prepared to give up. He joined an ESL conversation group, and worked hard, speaking with many different people. It helped build up his confidence.

Now walking to school, he wished he could finally make that change in his life. He wanted so badly to make friends, to have a happy life. Maybe even have a boyfriend. Have a life like the shows on the TV. Maybe his parents could see that him being gay didn’t need to be a problem. They expected him to change, but he hoped London would help change them.

As he reached the sign, the school loomed large. His stomach started to knot. Closing his eyes he drew in a deep breath, centering himself. When he was ready he walked through the doors.

His school in Poland was old. His village being small, he knew everyone in his class. That had brought him comfort. The forum here was large, empty, and modern. There were many students scurrying about, talking to each other. He knew making friends would be a challenge.

His locker was just outside his first class. He took his English text out of his bag and stashed the rest. Maybe he would meet someone who shared his study period after class. They could hang out.

Entering class and saw a girl smile at him. He took the seat beside her.

The girl looked at him politely. “Sorry, can my friend sit there?” She hadn’t been looking at him, her friend behind him. He gave her a polite smile and moved to another desk. He felt embarrassed but laughed to himself. Honest mistake.

The teacher launched straight into lessons, Matteusz followed along just fine. He might not have been ready when he first arrived in London, but he was going to be fine.

For his study period, he grabbed his bag and went down to the library. It had often been a refuge for him in the summer. He saw some kids sitting at a table reading physics texts and sat next to them. “Hi, you have Ms. Quill next class?”

One of the kids looked up at him, “Ah no, Mr Fryer.” The boy then turned back to his work.

Matteusz, smiled looked down at his bag. He took out his book and started to read. He finished rereading chapter 1 when he saw the kids getting up. He looked over to the clock it was time to go.

Physics was on the second floor over looking the back of the school; he could see the track through the window. The class was half full. Today hadn’t started off well, not bad, but he had hoped he would have made a friend by now. He took a seat at the back of the class. Physics was his least favourite subject, too much math. He sat down and crossed his arms over his desk, resting his chin on them.

One of the boys making his way through the aisle, paused and set his gaze upon him. Matteusz gave a quick look behind him. No he was looking at him. The boy gave a weak smile and wave. He felt himself blushing and quickly looked down at his desk. The boy was cute.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the boy sit. Matteusz looked up and studied the side of the boy’s face. The boy turned and looked back at him. Maybe he likes me? He thought to himself, cautiously optimistic.

“Charles,” Ms. Quill began, “Do try and pay attention, and leave Matteusz alone.”

Charles, he thought to himself. I like Charles, it sounds very English.


	2. Charlie POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of school from Charlie's point of view, up to the first meeting of Matteusz.

Charlie awoke at 6 in the morning and prepared for school. Everything here was completely different than his home. As such, everything was both very exciting, and confusing.

At home, he was tutored in private and had all of his needs met. While he had responsibilities, they tended to be towards others. Here he was expected to fend for himself and learn with others. Successes and failures would be for him to own. This is what life now was.

It was too early to leave, so he sat and stared at his phone. He pulled up Google and typed ‘expectations for your first day of school’. Many helpful tips, though many seemed geared to children starting their first grade. Perhaps still applicable, he thought as he continued reading.

At 7:30 he made his way downstairs. He reached out for the door when a hand on his shoulder spun him around. Ms. Quill, a thin woman with severe looks, thrust a brown bag in his hands. He looked down at it confused.

“Only today,” She said with a scolding finger raised to his face.

“Thanks?” He said uncertain. He wasn’t sure if the thanks were appropriate, he had no idea what was in it. He gave the bag a quick shake, nothing sharp or heavy, probably not a weapon.

Charlie packed the bag and headed out the door. He shared a flat with Ms. Quill, his de facto guardian. It wasn’t far from the school, but he wanted to get there early and familiarize himself with its layout.

Arriving at the school he paused and took a moment to study the name, Coal Hill. He began to wonder what the significance of the name might be. The school wasn’t situated on a hill, though he supposed there could be coal beneath it.

Opening the main door he entered the school. The forum was big, and bright. It was also quite quiet. He made a note to himself; he should maybe arrive after 8 tomorrow.

Ascending the stairs he made his way to his locker. He emptied the content of his bag, organizing his books based on needs for the day. He stared at the brown bag sitting on the shelf, lunch he supposed.

His first subject was Math. He liked math. It was definitive. It either was or wasn’t. Having read many books during the summer, English was the subject he dreaded the most. Everything was interpretative to something else, and had hidden meanings. It made him annoyed that authors couldn’t just speak more plainly.

The bell ringing broke his concentration. Looking at his phone he realized he had been standing staring at his locker for 20 minutes. Grabbing his math text he proceeded to class.

Charlie took a seat next to a girl with brown hair. She smiled at him and he gave smile back. She again smiled at him, it seemed like they were stuck in some strange loop. He held out his hand to introduce himself. “Hi, I am Charlie.”

“Hi. I’m April,” The girl said taking his hand.

“I am new. Just moved here, but I think I like this place.”

“Welcome,” April said sincerely, smile returning once more. “Yes this school is great, and the students are very nice.”

“Oh, I meant London. But yes this place is exciting too.” April seemed very friendly towards him, which put him at ease. He enjoyed talking with her, though he was thankful he had his phone. He didn’t understand a number of things she said.

His next class was biology. Ms. Quill had insisted he learn more about humans and what better place then what makes them up. Sadly after the intro it seemed like the bulk of the semester would be studying simpler organisms.

At the conclusion of Biology he looked down at his schedule, physics with Ms. Quill. He had not been looking forward to this class. While Physics was not a difficult subject for him, it was her presence as his teacher that made him uncomfortable. But Ms. Quill had insisted he be in her class to keep an eye on him.

He entered the class and saw April. Good, he thought, I know someone. As he walked to a seat near her he noticed a boy with his head slouched over his arm. He looked about as happy to be there as he was. The boy noticed him staring and sat up, feigning a smile. Charlie smiled back and offered what he thought was a small friendly wave.

Ms. Quill arrived and began the class. She gave the distinct impression she did not want to be there either. She wrote a couple equations on the board and sat at her desk, sipping coffee while studying them.

The class mood seemed rather dour. Looking around the room he noticed the boy he waved to looking at him. He gave a polite smile and his cheeks started to flush. The boy quickly looked down at his work, but thought he saw him peek up at him once more.

“Charles,” Ms. Quill snapped, “Do try to pay attention, and leave Matteusz alone.”

Matteusz, Charlie thought to himself. He liked the name, it sounded exotic. At least not English. He was intrigued.


End file.
